Fuel propelling and mixing device



Aug. 20, 1929.

J. M. BROWN FUEL PROPELLING AND MIXING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1927 f, :t,55555515515c :$55,251,511: ,4

INVENTOR JOHN v Al. BRO/YN ATTORNEYS Aug. 20, 1929. J. M. BROWN FUEL PROPELLING AND MIXING DEVICE Filed April 6, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGLIO- INVENTOR.

./o//lv M. BROWN 7J BY mida-MMA ATTORN EYS Patented Aug. 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MURTON BROWN, OF IRVINGTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 CRYSTAL OIL BURNER CORP., OF IRVINGTON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FUEL PROPELLING AND MIXING DEVICE.

Application filed April 6,

This invention relates to blowers and more particularly to blowers of the type especially adapted for delivering atomized oil to a source of consumption, such as an oil burner.

It is an object of my invention to provide a blower which is adapted to receive a mixture of oil and air and deliver the same at a uniform pressure and in a continuous manner while maintaining the uniformity of said mixture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a blower which is adapted to deliver a mixture of oil and air and which at the same time operates upon the oil and air to form a more intimate mixture thereof and to more [in-ely divide the oil particles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vacuurn-centrifugal blower. y

Another object of the invention is to provide an atomized oil blower which is so constructed that paddling of the oil does not take place therein.

A still further object of the. invention is to provide mechanism which is adapted to atomize oil and to deliver said atomized oil in a continuous manner and at a uniform pressure. l

A still further object of the invention is to provide a system for delivering crude oil to an oil burner in such condition that it may be cracked to form a combustible fuel.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description is read.

Various devices have been made for conveying liquids and gases from one position to another, but so far as I am aware no such devices are adapted for conveying a. mixture of oil and air, that is atomized oil, in a continuous manner and without disturbing the relative proportions of oil and air. The reason why such devices are unsatisfactory for the purpose indicated is because the oil owing to its greater specific gravity than the air collects into pools or puddles within the blower or other device employed for translating the same.

My invention is especially adapted for oil burners although other uses therefor may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Oil burners of the type for which the invention is particularly adapted are described and claimed in my copending applications, Serial Number 696,187, filed March 1, 1924, Serial Number 728,537, filed July 28,

mixed and thatthe oil is in as line a state4 of subdivision asis capable of being attained.

The present invention has been devised especially to fulfil the above-mentioned needs inasmuch as blowers of the type at present found on the market are unsatisfactory for this purpose although such blowers may be entirely suitable for either conveying a liquid or a gas alone, but not for conveying a mixture thereof and maintaining its uniformity.

An embodiment of my invention may comprise a casing in which is mounted for rotation a rotor consisting of a skeleton frame supporting a plurality of blades of various sizes. These blades are so arranged with respect to each other and with respect to the center of the rotor member as to draw a mixture of oil and air in the direction of the axis of the rotor through a centrally disposed opening in one side of the casing. The mixture of oil and air thus drawn within the casing is lifted by the rapidly rotating blades due to the shape of the latter toward the periphery of the rotor where through centrifugal action it is driven or thrown to the outer side of the rotor and into the space between the rotor and the casing. The mixture of oil and air thus delivered into t-he casing is carried around `the casing in the direction of rotation of the rotor by the action of the blades until an opening in the casing is reached through which said mixture is forced under considerable pressure. The blades in addition to performing the various functions just described also break up the oil particles into still smaller particles and also cause the air and oil to become more intimately mixed. Provision is also made in the form of a plurality of auxiliary elongated orifices within the blower adjacent the outlet ope-ning to prevent the oil from puddling or collecting into pools. The movement of the mixture of oil and air out of the casing is facilitated by mounting the rotor slightly off center with respect to the axis of the casing,

thus providing a chamber in the casing between the rotor and the easing which gradually increases in size toward the .outlet therein.

A more complete understanding of the invention may be had by reading the following detailed description in connect-ion with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the blower, portions of the casing being broken away to illustrate portions of the interior structure of the blower.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the blower.

taken on line H-H of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the lace plate of the blower.

Fig. il is a sectional view of the cover plate taken on line V-V, in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view ol' the casing or stator member lof the blower.

Fig. G is an end view of the casing looking in the direction of the arrows in F 5.

Fig. 7 is an elevational view of the inipeller or rotor member of the blower.

Fig. 8 is anpend View of the impeller or rotor member.

Fig. 9 is an elevational View of the inner end ol a primary blade of the impeller or rotor member, and

Fig. 10 is a. sectional view of the primary blade taken on line XI-XL in Fig. 9.

An embodiment of my invention may comprise a generally circular casing 1.2 consisting of a box-like member 13 having a llat wall 1l and a peripheral wall or flange 15 integral therewith. The peripheral wall 15 vhas a flange 16 projecting outwardly therefrom along its edge and to this flange is bolted a cover plate 17, the fit therebetween being such that no air can enter the casing from the outside thereof. The walls of the casing along their lower edges are shaped so as to form a rectangular passageway 18 which `forms the outlet o'f the casing. rl`l1e cover plate 17 of the casing is provided near the central portion thereof with an inlet opening 19 through which a mixture oll oil yand air may be drawn into the casing.

Movement of the mixture of oil and air into the casing is produced by an impeller or rotor 21 which is rotated at a high speed by any suit-able source of energy as by a motor 20. rlhe rotor member may comprise a circular disk 22 secured in any desirable Vmanner to a shaft 23 supported in bearings 9,4 and 25 in an oil or bearing box 'i6 secured to the wall 1l of the casing. The

.disk 22 has secured thereto at right angles vto its surface and preferably integrally therewith a seriesof radially disposed plates or vanes consisting of four primary vanes their edges at points located remote .from the face of the disk, this. iiange being preterably integral with the blades. The disk, the blades and the flange are preferably formed as one integral casting although it is obvious that they may be separate elements secured together in'any desired manner.

The four primary blades are disposed at right angles with respect to the y)lane of a face of the disk 22 and divide said face into equally sized quadrants 32, 3l and 85. Each of the vanes 2T is bent into the l'orm of a reverse curve, the curved portion 36 being of shorter radius than the curved portion 3T, for a purpose which will be more fully described hereinafter. The secondary blades 28 are curved or bent at 38 and are considerably shorter than f the primary blades 2T. One of the secondary blades 28 is located midway between a pair ot primary blades adjacent the outer ends oi' the latter, thus forming a series orn secondary pockets 8S. The tertiary blades 29 are curved or bent at 39 and are about hall' the length or' the secondary blades or vanes 2S. 'here are four tertiary blades disposed in the space between each primary blade and secondary blade so as to divide such space into equally proportioned but lesser capacity pockets 39.

rlhe curvature of the outer ends of the primary, secondary and tertiary blaues such with resoect to the direction of rotation of the rotor as to permit the free passage el the mixture oi oil and air therethrough under the centrifugal action el the impeller or rotor, and at the same time such portions of the blades serve to strike the mixture of oil and air in the casing outside of the rotor and propel the same toward and through the passageway or outlet 18. Freierably the curvature should be such that the angle any lade makes with a tangent to the radius of the impeller is less tl .i a right angle, the inner edge ol any blade, excepting the primary blades, being at right angles with respect to the tangent of a circle touching the inner edge of the secondary blades.

rIhe inner edges 41 or the edges oli the primary blades adjacent. the center of the disk 22 isbeveled (see Figs. 9 and 10) so that said edges make an angle ot about degrees with the face of the disk. rllhis edge of the primaryV blade is rounded as at 42 (see Fig. 10) and where said edge connects with the upper edge 43 oic the primary blades, the surface is roundech rather sharply, as at lil. The inner edge l5 of the primary blades does not extend to the axial line passing` through the center of the inlet opening 19 and disk 17, but is spaced a short distance therefrom. By reason of this ccnstruction of the edges 41 of the primary blades, said blades when rapidly rotated produce a high vacuum at the center of the rotor, thus causing an inrush of a mixture of oil and air, under the external atmospheric pressure, into the blower. The movement of air and oil takes place in the direction of the arrows (see Fig. 1) when the rotor is rotated at a high speed in the direction of the arrow A (see Fig. 1). t will be noted that as each of the primary blades cuts into the mixture of oil and air, the portion in front of the blade will be thrown upwardly by reason of the curvature 36 in the blade. As this portion of the mixture moves upwardly it comes under the action of the centrifugal force and is thrown upwardly into the secondary space 38 between the secondary blades and the primary blades. The oil particles in this mixture are broken up and more intimately mixed through the action of the secondary and tertiary blades and by reason of the curvature of these blades the more intimately mixed oil and air is thrown through the tertiary spaces 39 and outwardly into the space 4G between the rotor and the casing. All of the blades then serve to propel the mixture through the space toward the outlet 18.

A portion of the mixture of oil and air under the rapid rotation of the primary blades is sucked or drawn up along the face 47 of the primary blades and into the secondary space 38 and under the action of centrifugal force is thrown outwardly through this space as well as the tertiary spaces or pockets 39 into the space- 46, at the same time the secondary and tertiary blades act to more finely divide the oil particles and more intimately mix the same with the air.

ln order to facilitate the passage of the mixture of oil and air through the space 4G and out of the casing through the outlet opening 18, and to prevent the same from being carried around and around with the rotor, the passageway or space 46 is made curved and wedge-shaped. This constructien is obtained by positioning the rotor with its axis olf center, toward the outlet 18, with respect to the center of the casing, thus bringing the blades very close to the inner side 47 of the wall 15V of the casing adjacent the upper edge 48 of the outlet opening 18, and remote from that portion of the inner side 47 of the wall 15 of the casing at the point 49. It will thus be seen that between a point near the upper edge 48 of the outlet and the point 49 that the space within the casing between the outside surface of the rotor and the inner side 47 of the wall 15 gradually increases in size. Although the blades are positioned very close to the inner side 47 of the casing, sufficient space is left so as to avoid any whistling or siren noises.

In order to prevent the oil from puddling or settling into pools in the lower part of the blower, a series of auxiliary oriices are provided by positioning plates or bailes adjacent the bottom of the casing in the outlet 18. These plates are secured to the wall 14 of the casing and are adjacent to and angularly disposed with respect to the wall of the casing, thus forming a plurality of orifices 50. The action is such that the mixture of air and oil passing over the upper surfaces of the battles draws any oil which may have collected upon the wall 15 of the casing and under the battles, into the mixture, such action being similar to that which occurs in atomizing a liquid by drawing air at high velocity over a jet in which the liquid is contained.

The rotor along its sides facing the walls 14 and 17 of the casing, fits the casing snugly so as to produce a stronger propelling action of the blades or vanos upon the mixture of air and oil.

The rotor 21 as explained heretofore is secured to a shaft 23 which latter has one end 51 secured in any desired manner to the disk 22. By reason of this construction the rotor is supported by one bearing since the opposite side of the rotor is unsupported. The rotor may, however, be carefully balanced so that it runs true and noiselessly when rotated and especially at high speed. The long bearing 24 consisting of a cylindrical sleeve supported in the ends of the bearing box 26 prevents undue vibration of the rotor when actuated at high speeds. Lubrication of the bearing 24 may be provided for in the usual manner by an oil ring 52 and oil grooves 53. It is to be noted that the groove 53 of the lubrication conduits extends to a point in the end 25 of the bearing where it lintersects or meets a circular groove 54 cut in the shaft, another longitudinal groove 55, which has its end connected to and an aperture 56, passing through the bearing sleeve 24. By reason of this construction, oil is prevented from passing the bearing box 26 within the casing 12 and mingling with the mixture of oil and air therein to distuib the consistency of the mixture. The bearing box 26 may be provided with a cover plate 26.

The bearing box is provided with a stuffing box 58, through which the shaft 23 extends to be connected in any suitable manner to a driving shaft (not shown), connected to a source of power such as an electric motor (not shown).

A lubrication channel 53 may be provided in the bearing sleeve 24, this channel extending to a point within the stuffing box 58, a drain opening being provided through the end wall 60 of the casing to prevent an over accumulation of oil in the stufling box. Thrust collars 61 and 60 are provided and disposed between an internal annular flange 62 and the wall 60 of the bearing box to take up end play of the shaft 23. Packing G3 may be inserted in the space 63 between the cover plate G4 and the annular flange 62 to prevent oil in the stufling box from exuding therefrom.

The foregoing blower is compact and noiseless in operation, and together with the operating motor and Carburettor may be placed within a small space adjacent a furnace. Furthermore, the action of the blower is such that the mixture of oil and air delivered to the burner is supplied in a uniform manner and Without changing the relative proportion of the oil and air, whereby the cracking7 operation upon the mixture produced by the special burner may be effectively carried out to form a combustible gas of the illuminating and heating type, that is a permanent gas.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described it is to be understood that those skilled in the art may make modifications therein, however, such modifications are contemplated as come within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

l/Vhat is claimed is:

l. In a fuel propelling and mixing device, a rotor for the same comprising a circular disk and an annular plate, spaced apart, a plurality of vanes connecting said disk and plate and dividing the space therebetween into a plurality of compartments, certain of said vanes having a length equal to about half the Width of said plate between its inner and outer edges and others of said vanes having the length substantially equal to the width of said plate and others of said vanes having a length greater than the width of said plate and extending to near the center of said circular disk.

2. In a fuel propelling and mixing device, a rotor for the same comprising a disk having a plurality of radially disposed vanes extending at an angle to the face of said disk, said vanes having a reverse curvature, one curve lying near the center of said disk and the'other near the outer edge thereof, said outer curve being of larger radius than the inner curve.

3. A fuel propelling and mixing device comprising a casing, a shaft in said casing, said casing having an increasing diameter in one direction of rotation about said shaft to an outlet opening, a rotor comprising a plate mounted on said shaft at right angles to its axis, vanes projecting from a face of said plate and arranged in a radial manner about said shaft, said vanes being concave to a direction of rotation of said rotor plate adjacent their inner ends and curving reversely to a convex curvature at their outer ends, said casing having' a central inlet about said shaft, the inner edges of said vanes sloping outwardly towards said outlet opening.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOI-IN MURTON BROVN. 

